Star Wars Revenant
by SlyScoundrel
Summary: Set a hundred years after the time of Revan and the Exile, former Jedi Knight Aries becomes embroiled in a dark and sinister plot, one that could affect the entire galaxy.
1. Chapter 1

"He seemed like any other child. Energetic, shy at times, but even when I first met him, there was a slight sense of unrest. If only I'd paid more attention to it, perhaps things would have gone differently..."

It had been a long work cycle, one shift longer than he was supposed to have worked, but Aries had accepted it anyway. When he wasn't working, or keeping himself in the shape his job required, he was drinking.

The Scoundrel's Den was quiet. It was a small cantina with low lighting and only one circular bar in the middle, surrounded by several small semi-circle hubs. For the most part the hubs contained tables and booths, the cliental being mostly bi-pedal, but a few of them had been retrofitted to serve the variety of species who were likely to congregate there.

Aries was feelings restless, and no matter where he went or what he did, that feeling was always with him. It was in his bones, in his blood and if he wasn't careful it could take over, and the results were usually unpleasant.

He also had a difficult time keeping to himself. As much as he tried to convince himself that his past was light years behind him, there still remained a very small sense of duty and justice. It was rarely conscious, more of an impulse, one he could barely control.

In a place like Nar Shaddaa it was far from a useful trait though. That night he could see it coming and could have walked away. He'd seen the Corellian pimp, Ranik, arrive with his group of Twi'lek girls a few hours before, and right away it was obvious that the man was drunk and in a boisterous mood. His instinct, maybe more than that, told him there would be trouble, but he'd ignored it, downing his drink and ordering another one.

It had all started with one word. "No."

It was amazing the effect one word could have. One word at the right moment could change the course of a night in an instant, and sometimes it could have consequences that went well beyond just one night or one life.

The word had been spoken by one of the Twi'lek girls. Her name was Yasha and she was still young, in her early twenties. She was short and her skin was a deep blue and she was wearing a cheap dress that was clearly a knock off of a fashion that had been popular on Coruscant recently.

Rani, was standing and so was she. She had a drink in her hand and was staring back defiantly at him. "What did you say?" he asked.

Yasha didn't back down, despite the fact that Ranik stood a good foot taller than her, with a broad chest and annoyingly large muscles. He wore a only a vest and black pants, with boots that were a bright lime green. He also had a blaster in a holster on his left side, Aries couldn't help but noticing.

"I said no. I'm done with this life, just give me the creds you owe me and I'll be gone," she said.

Ranik, laughed and his arm crossed over and then swept back, his back hand hitting the girl, nearly knocking her off her feet. Blood poured down from her nose and fire raged in her eyes before she screamed and lashed back against him, giving him four long and deep scratches on the side of his face.

"You little sithspawn slut," Ranik spewed before full out punching her in the face, knocking her back and through a cheap table. She sat up slowly, slightly dazed but still looking angry. Ranik pulled his blaster out it's holster and pointed it at Yasha. "You know who I'm associated with and what I can get away with if I want."

The blaster in his hand shook, and when he shot it, the bolt narrowly missed the girl's head, leaving a smoking hole in the seat behind her.

"I guess that makes a second blaster you don't know how to use," Yasha said with a defiant smile on her bloodied face.

Ranik's face was livid and Aries wouldn't have been surprised if his eyes popped out of his skull. He was practically shaking with rage and Aries could feel that seductive and familiar feeling rolling off him. The hand holding the blaster, however, wasn't shaking anymore, and it's barrel was pointed directly at the girl's head.

"Think I'll miss this time?" Ranik said. His voice was now a deadly calm, his eyes glaring directly at her.

"Ok, that's more than enough," Aries said. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried well and Ranik looked over, surprise now clouding his eyes.

He wasn't the only one surprised. Aries hadn't remembered standing up, and the words had escaped his lips with barely a conscious thought behind them.

"What did you say?" Ranik asked.

Aries sighed, "well at best it was a whole ten seconds ago, but I said that's enough. There's no need to kill the girl."

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" Ranik sneered. "I've seen you around here before. You're just some low-level Czerka security thug. Drunk off your ass most of the time you're here on cheap Corellian ale."

"Guess you have me all figured out," Aries replied with a smile, "still, you know what they say about appearances? I think you might want to let this little grudge die."

"Fuck you," Ranik said. He then looked back at Yasha, who had been frozen by the exchange, her eyes moving back and forth from Ranik to Aries. Finally her gaze was locked onto Ranik's, who had turned back to look at her and there was a cold malice on his face that frightened her more than any boast or blow.

Ranik's finger wrapped around the trigger and squeezed. Yasha closed her eyes and heard the blaster shot and in that moment was too scared to think of anything and really only felt anger at herself, at the situation, at Ranik, and hoped sincerely that someday something very bad would happen to the man who'd killed her.

There was no pain though, no burning or blood, nothing. She opened her eyes to see that the blaster Ranik had been holding was now lying on the ground near her feet. She had no idea how it had gotten there, but was immediately distracted by the fight that was now taking place between Ranik and Aries.

Ranik, who was bigger than Aries, was relying on pure brute force and launching punch after punch, all of which missed except for the last one, which caught Aries across the jaw. The blow had a brief stunning effect, but Aries regained his focus faster than anyone would have imagined.

Despite the fact that he seemed way more intoxicated than Ranik, Aries fought with a practiced technique and though his punches were mostly jabs, they landed much more consistently than Ranik's, and most of them were body shots, with only a few quick jabs hitting Ranik in the face.

Ranik was getting tired and decided to tackle Aries, lifting him up and crashing him down onto the ground, punching Aries in the face, dazing him while Ranik stood back up, groaning a bit at the pain that had been caused to his core.

Aries used the moment to deliver a quick yet vicious sweep, his heel catching Ranik's shin, causing him to fall forward as he screamed in pain. A loud crack had followed the blow and pain flooded Ranik's senses and for a few moments he had no real thought process.

When he finally got back onto his knees, mentally preparing himself for the simple task of returning to his feet, a task complicated the still constant pain in his shin, feeling as if someone was using a light saber to very slowly burn it away, only taking centimeters off at a time, he looked up to see that Aries had already beaten him to the act. He didn't have the time or the energy to stop the fist that hammered down into the side of his head.

The blow knocked Ranik down, and while he was still barely conscious, the fight was over. Aries looked down at Ranik and his vision blurred, whether this was more because he had drank a lot or gotten punched in the head he wasn't sure, and a small smile formed on his lips.

The constant, driving pulse of adrenaline was still electrifying his system, and he felt alive in a way he hadn't for an incredibly long time. He had always felt that way after a fight or a battle.

Somewhere in the dark recesses of mind lingered the guilt that was always there as well. It was a battle of nature versus nurture, of the teachings he'd grown up with and trained under competing with his heritage, with the blood that flowed through his veins.

It was at that point that he realized how quiet the bar was. He looked over and saw the bartender, was was a small and scared looking Rodian, holding an old, Exar Kun era rifle.

The Rodian spoke a few words in a loud and shaky voice. Aries could only make out a bit of it, but understood the intention behind the words. "It's alright," he said. "I won't be causing any more trouble."

The bartender continued to point his gun,and repeated what he'd said before. Aries now noticed that the rifle wasn't pointed directly at him, but slightly to the side.

He looked over to see Yasha holding Ranik's blaster now. When she had stood up, he didn't know, but now it was her turn to point it at Ranik, who still lay unconscious on the floor.

"Sure that's a good idea?" Aries asked.

"Seems like a pretty damn good one from where I'm standing," Yasha replied.

"In your boots I might say the same, but even if you didn't realize that you had a rifle pointed at your head, you might want reconsider the consequences of taking out someone as connected as him," Aries said.

Yasha didn't say anything, but there was uncertainty in her eyes now. What she was thinking, the images and memories of sensations caused by the now unconscious scoundrel, Aries could only glimpse at through the wave of emotions that rolled off her.

Then she fired. So did the Rodian. The second shot was fired only a few milliseconds after the first. Neither hit their target.

The blaster Yasha had been holding was now floating half a meter above her head and she was holding the hand the blaster had been held in. The Rodian's rifle was also out of his hands and also floating about half a meter in front of him.

The bartender barely let out a squeal of surprise before the rifle flew back at him with a burst of speed, the butt slamming into his head hard enough to knock him over.

The blaster floated over to Aries, outstretched hand, he grasped the handle, set the weapon to stun and turned it's safety on before stuffing it in the back of his pants.

Yasha looked at him with a stunned face. "You're a Jedi."

"Not anymore," he said. He then waved two of his finger quickly in the direction of Yasha and the other Twi'lek girls. "You've never seen me before. This man drank too much and passed out, and you decided to take your chances and run, to try and start a new life far away from here."

Without a word in reply the girls left. Yasha brushed up against him, as if she couldn't see him.

Aries left several minutes later, after making sure the security system had been thoroughly destroyed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Several hours later Aries woke up in his small apartment, with his head throbbing, and had to knock over a few empty bottles of ale he'd drank after the confrontation the night before, so he could see what time it was.

He groaned as the light from the digital display hit his eyes. It was almost noon by Nar Shaddaa's time and he rolled over onto his stomach, hoping to get just a bit more sleep.

His mind couldn't rest any more though and he already felt the restlessness that continued to plague him awaken. Itwalkways started off small, a feeling of having forgotten something, of something left to do, and it didn't take long for that little flame to flow through his blood and bones and muscles until it was impossible for him to stay still.

They say a restlessness is a sign of an unhealthy mind. Aries snorted, between his past and drinking he'd be lucky if any small part of his mind was healthy any more.

He tried to quiet his mind, find that calm center that was once so easy to locate. He looked over at the night-stand, where the bottles had been, and the clock was glaring it's digits annoyingly. There was one other object on that table. It was cylindrical in shape, with a rounded hilt, a few buttons and a worn, light-brown grip that wrapped around it.

He closed his eyes, and with great difficulty, found that calm center. It was much more unstable than it had been, but he managed to hold onto it. The cylindrical object slowly started to float up into the air. It was spinning slowly as well, and floated over and stopped a meter above Aries' chest.

The largest button was pressed by an invisible finger and a brilliant and golden blade extended in the air horizontally. It was about a meter in a half long.

At this point his hold on the calm inside himself began to shake and grow even more unstable. He fought to keep hold of it but the tighter he he held on the faster it slipped away. The lightsaber started to wobble in the air and Aries barely rolled out of the way before it fell down towards his bed.

He managed to turn the power off before it burned it's way completely through his bed and possibly through the floor as well. He stood up, feeling considerably more awake than he had a few moments ago, and picked up the lightsaber hilt and set it back onto the table.

He didn't carry it anymore. A lightsaber would bring all sorts of attention down onto him, and that was the last thing he wanted. Still, he couldn't bring himself to part with it. It was a constant reminder of his past, but he had also built it, gone to battle and been through the fires of Hell with it. He couldn't get rid of it, and besides, it might still prove useful.

The previous night had been the first time he'd really used his powers for years. There had been the odd mind trick or sometimes he'd use his mind to help a box seem lighter, or knock someone off balance.

The long scorch mark on his bed glared up at him, proof of how much his skills had deteriorated. He sighed, not sure why it mattered, he had a new life now, one where the damage he caused was largely contained to himself and the odd asshole he got into a fight with.

He walked over the refresher unit and took a long shower, about half of it spent with his head against the wall as the water hit his face to wake himself up completely. He had the day off, and didn't want to spend it brooding around in his flat, or drinking either at a cantina, though he knew at least one of those would happen at some point.

After stepping out of the shower, he looked at himself in the mirror. He was thinner than he would have liked, though somehow that didn't bother him like it should have. His green eyes had a slightly gaunt and sunken-in look to them and his light brown hair was messy.

He dressed haphazardly, no real style in mind, just some simple dark brown pants, dark brown boots, a white shirt and his khaki-colored jacket. He paused before leaving his room, looking back at the night stand, then towards the door, and finally, unable to shake a peculiar feeling, he went back and picked up his lightsaber and slide it inside his jacket.

"Never know," he said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sariss unconsciously stayed close to Anslinger as they walked through level after level of the stinking cesspool that was Nar Shaddaa. They both wore robes with hoods pulled over their heads. Her's was the traditional brown of the Jedi order, and it hid her freckled face and copper-red hair.

She looked over at Anslinger, who wore a grey robe, despite being the rank of Master in the order. A master with more a checkered past than most. He stood a foot and a half taller than her, and under the hood he had a worn and weather-beaten face, which was naturally a light-mocha colour. His long black hair was tied back, with a few streaks of grey, and he had kind dark brown eyes.

Though during their few months together, Sariss sensed that there were times when that kindness was forced.

The street they were walking on had bright sign after sign advertising everything from dancers to cantinas, casinos and prostitutes and signs in different languages advertising things Sariss definitely did not want to know about.

Speeders and swoops of various sizes soared only a few meters above them. Their drifts sending columns of air shooting through the pedestrians walking below, one knocking Sariss' hood off her face. Annoyance built inside her as she pulled it back on.

"Peace young one," Anslinger said beside her. His voice was deep and had calming quality to it.

Sariss didn't reply right away. She focused on doing as he'd said, checking the emotions that ran through her mind. "I just can't understand why anyone would subject themselves to living here, for any reason."

"Youth has it's advantages, an excess of energy and the ability to learn something more quickly than those older. Unfortunately wisdom is not normally one of those inherent traits," Anslinger said.

"And that means what exactly?" Sariss asked.

"Essentially that you've lived a somewhat spoiled existence at the Academy, and that you should wait a few more years, say ten, before presuming to judge other people and their choices. They aren't always so simple," Anslinger said.

Sariss pouted for a moment but kept quiet. She'd argued with Anslinger before and no matter what he always seemed to outwit her.

Her focus returned to their surroundings. "It just seems like an odd place for a Jedi to hide," she said.

Anslinger chuckled. "We aren't looking for a Jedi though. He left that path a long time ago, unfortunately."

"You aren't hiding your sadness very well," Sariss observed.

"I'm not trying to," Anslinger replied. "The man we're searching for was like a son to me once and we'd been through many adventures together before he turned."

"Do you think he's still a slave to it?" Sariss asked.

"Unlikely, the last I saw him I believe he had turned back, maybe not all the way to the light, but somewhere in-between. Even so, he'll always be tainted by it, and by his memories," Anslinger said.

Sariss grew quiet and contemplated on what he'd said as they reached a lift that would take them to yet another level. There they were approached a group of six people dressed in cloaks and various rugged attire. She still felt that anyone who looked closely would notice their tough faces and mixture of muscular and wiry bodies that characterized elite Republic soldiers. Even the two women looked scarier than most men Sariss knew.

Underneath their cloaks were all manner of weaponry. Sariss had thought bringing six soldiers along with two Jedi had been overkill, until see saw the look in Anslinger's eyes when she'd made a joke about it.

Anslinger stopped in front of a large bald man man with a hood over his face. Sariss would have known Commander Agear from his stature alone, but she could also she his scar, which ran across his face and the spiraling sun tattoo surrounding his left eye.

"Anything to report?" Anslinger asked.

"We've searched the majority of this sector sir, and still no sighting of the target yet," The Commander said.

"I told you it'd be almost impossible to find him," Sariss said to Anslinger.

"I said we'd had no physical sighting, miss, not nothing," the soldier said, "I've had Horace here slice into as many networks and security systems as he can, and you need to see this Anslinger."

Horace, the skinniest of the group, but still with a wiry body and short and spiky green hair, stepped forward and with a tap of his fingers on a comm unit attached to his wrist, a holographic screen appeared in midair in-between Sariss, Agear, Anslinger and himself.

After watching the clip that Horace played, Sariss felt a chill move through Anslinger and his expression was colder than any she'd seen on him.

"Where did this come from?" he asked.

Horace had a raspy smoker's voice, "it's from a small, hole in the wall cantina several levels down and two sectors over. Would've slipped past me if I hadn't come across a security report filed by the owner, a Rodian with ties to local crime. In the report he mentioned that one of the troublemakers had used sorcery. The official commented that he thought the man was crazy or had probably been intoxicated, but I thought the descriptions sounded like a force user."

"Well," Anslinger said, "we know which area we're searching next."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The past few hours had gone well enough, Aries supposed. He'd picked up a quick snack before heading to his usual training facility.

At first his brain and body had rebelled very vocally at this decision, as well as during his warm up exercise and jog around the facility, but after he'd sweat out most of the toxins from the previous night and for the most part woken up, he actually found he was enjoying himself.

It was amazing the effects simple adrenaline could have on a person, and for the first time in a few weeks Aries actually felt alright. The restlessness was still there, but it had been sated by the exercise for at least a little while.

So when he left the training facility he was in a remarkably good mood, in fact he hadn't felt this good in months really, forget weeks. He almost felt guilty, but he brushed that feeling aside before taking a shuttle to one of the richer sectors and walking around it.

Nar Shaddaa was a fully formed city planet, similar to Coruscant but without all the politics that surrounded that world, and a lot grimier as well. Aries wasn't sure what it said about himself that he actually somewhat enjoyed living here.

There were some things he missed, like actually being able to walk through a forest and swim in water from a river or lake with no simulations to make it seem more or less real.

The richer sectors we're the closest Aries could get to that kind of wandering feeling. Their levels were also usually much higher than those of the poorer sectors, whether this was to give them a sense of superiority or not, it still provided Aries with an incredible view.

From where he was, leaning against the railing and looking down at the landscape, Aries saw a mechanical jungle. One made up of metal and bright lights, with people scurrying around like animals, some feasting on others, some doing their best to avoid the apex predators, with swoops and shuttles flying around like giant birds of prey.

Sometimes, without really realizing it even, he would reach out with the Force, see the intricate connections in vivid patterns, become lost in it, in the tiny intricacies that bound everyone together. It was also at times like this that he realized truly how foolish he had been, how arrogant and inpatient and how it had taken falling so far, becoming a monster and then finally turning his back on that to become nothing, to truly appreciate what life meant.

He had travelled quite a bit in his youth, to dozens of planets, ones that contained true beauty, but he had never paid any attention to it. Too focused was he on training and gaining power, with no idea of where he was or where his thirst would lead him.

He smiled and wondered if it would be possible one day to return those worlds, perhaps in disguise. He had regrets about the past but no illusions. There would be no going back, no reconciliation. Redemption was a nice idea, but he wasn't Revan, and it was best for him and the galaxy if he just moved on and forgot who he was before.

If only he could truly believe that.

He sighed and continued his long walk, going in no direction in particular, just wandering, something he'd grown quite good at in the past few years, and had even grown to enjoy it.

Despite the painful memories, he'd found more joy in these quiet moments than any he had in all his pursuits of power or glory. Foolish pursuits, and not uncommon to those who are young.

By all accounts, he was still young, he supposed. Humans lived well over a hundred years now, easily, and there were races who only had barely reached puberty by the time a human's natural life span was over.

He chuckled a bit at himself. If this was what he did in his spare time, wandering and philosophizing, then he practically was an old man.

He finally reached the market area of the sector he was roaming around in. The closeness of the buildings and higher volume of people proximity-wise brought him out of his contemplative reverie.

People brushed past him and continued on their way, many walking with purpose, some slowly while looking at the various shops and their wares. A couple dozen meters away he could see some teenagers hanging around a few custom-made swoops, laughing and jeering each other, wearing bright leather clothes, a new fashion that had sprung up recently.

They were laughing, but something about the way it sounded felt wrong, and it only took about a dozen more steps for Aries to see what the cause of their mirth was. He'd assumed they'd been talking and laughing at a joke one of them had told, but the closer he got, it became apparent that five of them had formed a tight circle around a sixth.

The sixth was dressed differently as well. His clothes were more rugged and he was a little younger, of course he could just have a young looking face. Either way his nose was bleeding and there was anger in his eyes.

"We told you not to come up here," a tall blonde kid with an arrogant expression said. The others laughed and jeered. Aries would have sworn he heard one of them grunt, and they pushed the boy around a bit more.

"I can come up here if I want," the boy said. He had a skinny body, with black eyes and messy black hair.

"No, you can't," the blond kid said. "You're gutter trash, and trash like you should stay down in the cheap sectors with the rest of your kind."

He then punched the dark-haired boy, knocking him to his feet. The boy scrambled to get up, fires blazing in his eyes, but he was hampered by the other four surrounding him, who kicked him again and again as he tried to get up.

The boy's face was bloody, he probably had at least a few bruised ribs and still he wasn't crying out. Kid was tougher than he looked, but one sharp boot to the back of his head would end things nice and quick, and the other boys didn't look they were tiring any either.

What made it worse was the lack of concern the people passing by were showing. A few shook their heads, some even told them to stop, but no one actually got involved until Aries got closer.

"I think he's gotten the point," he said to them.

"Back off old man, or you'll get the same," the blond kid said.

Aries turned the kid around by the shoulder, grabbed his collar and threw him over and against one of the swoops. "You don't want to do that," he said to the kid's friends.

At first they had been surprised, but they'd recovered quickly, and were starting to come towards him before he'd said that. The blond boy looked betrayed as he watched his friends comply with what Aries had said without a word.

The kid who they had been beating slowly stood back up, his hand holding his ribs.

Aries then turned back to the blond boy, looking down on him as he lay leaning against the swoop, and said, "first of all, I told you once that he'd gotten the point. I didn't say that there was a point whatsoever in teaching him anything with your boots. People like are everything that's wrong with this galaxy. Now you're going to go home and think hard on what I've just said. Second, I'm barely thirty."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Later that night Aries sat alone in one of the darker corners of yet another cantina. This one, Club 88, had once had dreams beyond it's owner's means. When it had opened it had been several times the size of what it was now. The owner had tried to make it the hottest club on a planet overs-saturated with them.

The only problem was that he tried to go around the local gangsters and bought his own security team, one that was supposedly top-notch. About a month later, five out of seven members of that team were all dead, all through apparently random accidents, and the owner had had to spend a lot of credits on a new and overly expensive spinal cord, from having mysteriously fallen down the stairs that led up to his second floor.

The owner had had to sell most of space to the Czerka Corporation, with only enough left for a small dive, barely bigger than the Scoundrel's Den.

Aries didn't often come here, but after the scene he'd caused the previous night, thought it would best to avoid the Den for at least a month or two. The owner had looked even more surly than usual when Aries had ordered a few drinks. There was a shadow of a smile on his face after he'd handed them over though that had given Aries an uneasy feeling.

He'd only intended to have a few drinks, in fact the two drinks he'd ordered, and stop there. But before he knew it he'd gotten up twice and was presently on his sixth.

The day had started off well, and even though he felt somewhat good about helping the kid out, he still wondered what it was about himself that brought trouble in on a regular basis.

Aries had given the beaten boy enough credits for a ride to an emergency medical unit and back to whatever home he had, and for at least several meals on top of that. He had long known that currency didn't mean to him what it did to everyone else. He had spent so long not having to worry about things like it, since the Order had always covered the costs of whatever trip he was on, or arranged a ship for him to board or sometimes a smaller one to pilot.

He sighed and shook his head to try and clear it, leaning back and running his hands through his hair, ruffling it up unconsciously before sinking down onto the table, his arms folded and head buried in them for a few minutes, hoping he could shut everything out, this cut-throat world, the whole galaxy, for just a moment.

The galaxy seemed to have other plans for him though.

After a few moments he looked up. He wasn't sure why, but something felt off. Alcohol could distort the senses or enhance them to an unbearable proportions, which is why Jedi normally refrained from its use.

Right now he felt detached from them, but that was an illusion. Still, what he had felt was so faint that perhaps it had been his imagination.

He ruffled his hair again, and as he did so, was treated to a very pleasing sight. A woman, several years younger than him, probably in her early twenties, had just walked in.

In a more sober state he might have wondered why such a pretty girl would walk into a dive like Club 88, but inconvenient facts like that seemed very far away at the moment. She had copper-red hair, with freckles covering her face lightly, and wore her up, and though she was more on the shorter side, she had a very athletic frame that Aries found himself staring at probably longer than he should have.

It didn't help that she was wearing a light black top that ended above her midriff, a black skirt that went down to above her ankles as well as black heels. She also wore a golden bracelet that snaked around her arm a few times, as well as a singe gold ring on the opposite side. Aries had an eye for detail, you see.

All in all the outfit had a very sensual appeal to it and though he knew it was probably rude, he still couldn't look away. Then again things like rude and manners weren't high on his alcohol soaked mind at the moment.

There were also various other signs that someone who had been trying to hide for so long should have noticed, but maybe deep down Aries was tired of that, but had he noticed those signs, in a presumably less intoxicated state, he might not have walked over to the girl with red hair that night.

She had watched him walk over, and there was a slight smile on her face when she looked at him, then back towards the bartender to order her drink.

After the drink had been brought over, and she'd had to endure a long and not so subtle look from the owner, she made to reach inside her purse to get the credits to pay for the drink, but Aries already had his own credits, quietly thanking the galaxy that he still had the dexterity to do so in a somewhat smooth manner, though he was also still surprised he'd managed to walk over without stumbling.

She smiled at him, and said, "thanks. Not sure I expected anything close to chivalry in a place like this."

Aries smiled and chuckled a bit, "yeah it does have a certain unfriendly vibe to it, I have no idea why, really," he said, rolling his eyes before turning back to the owner, who was still staring at the woman. "Need anything," he said, "I have had a decent amount to drink tonight but I'm pretty sure I'm all paid up so far."

"Yeah your tab is settled, would have let you know otherwise," the owner said before turning away.

Aries' eyebrows rose slightly as he looked over at the woman, who giggled a bit at the exchange. "So would it be too rude for me to ask your name," he said.

The woman took a sip from her drink, her face scowling a bit and eyes watering a little at the strength of the drink she'd chosen. "Not at all," she stammered a bit, "I'm Sariss."

"Pleasure to meet you Sariss," Aries said and after relaying his name said, "if you want you're more than welcome to join me at my table. It's at least moderately clean."

After a brief hesitation she agreed, "as long as I'm not imposing," she said.

"Not at all," Aries said with a smile.

They sat down and she took another sip of her drink, her eyes watering less, "the only reason I ask is that this seems like a place where people like to be left alone."

"Normally you'd be right, but there's been a bit too much of that lately," Aries said. "Had a bit too much of this planet to be honest."

"It definitely has a distinct quality to it," Sariss said.

"You mean odour?" Aries smiled.

Sariss giggled a bit, "kind of. Is the whole planet a city?"

"Yep, one big giant industrial jungle," Aries said.

"Yeah I guess it would be a bit unrealistic to expect places like the Gardens on a planet like this," Sariss said.

"Yeah there's nothing like that, maybe a few small and cheap imitations, but nothing matching the beauty or extravagance of the Gardens, no giant waterfall either," he said.

"It is quite the sight," Sariss said, her finger with the ring tapping against the table lightly, "not one you ever really forget."

"Never, actually," Aries said, and there was no mistaking the longing in his voice.

"How long has it been?" Sariss asked.

"Since I've been to Coruscant?" Aries said, "several years at this point. To be honest it feels like another lifetime, like who I was back then is completely foreign, just another stranger."

Sariss was still lightly tapping her finger, though now even she'd forgot about it as she listened to Aries, who had just noticed her tapping. "Nervous habit?" he asked.

"Oh I just do it sometimes, can't help it," she said, but the words spilled out faster than she had intended, and finally Aries grew suspicious.

"Right," he said.

His mind had finally awoken from the drunken and hormonal stupor it had been in, but it was too late. He finally noticed that slowly the cantina had started to fill up with people wearing heavy cloaks. As he looked at them, they stood up and moved across the room to stand near his table, blocking all the exits, and allowing only a small space, one in which Anslinger walked through. He'd pulled his hood back as he looked down on his former student.

"Well...shit," Aries said.

"It's taken me quite some time to find you," Anslinger said.

"Well I was trying to hide, so yeah," Aries said. He then looked over at Sariss, whose eyes had hardened somewhat, but Aries felt that he still detected a bit of remorse, and also, when he looked at her, she quickly looked away. He held his gaze though, ignoring Anslinger for the moment, and waited until Sariss finally looked back at him.

"This situation right here," he said, "is the very definition of blue balls."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Aries leaned back in his chair, picked up his half empty bottle and took a large gulp from it. It would have seemed to many that he didn't have anything to worry about at all.

Certainly not several armed soldiers, a Jedi master and now that he was thinking clearer and she wasn't hiding who she was, a young Jedi as well to contend with.

"It's been quite some time hasn't it?" Anslinger said.

Aries shot a look at Sariss before saying "a lifetime."

"The consequences of our actions always catch up on us," Anslinger replied.

"Still constantly spouting your philosophies eh," Aries said. "I'm sure he was a lot of fun to travel with.". He spoke the last words to Sariss, who was still quiet. He did a bit of a double-take as well, since she was no longer wearing the outfit she had on earlier, but instead the traditional Jedi robe.

"Holographic clothing eh, you're full of surprises," he said. He then looked over at the soldiers Anslinger had brought, studying them and trying to guess what weaponry they'd brought. He could make out at least one blaster, he made note of it. "Brought enough back-up?"

"The goal is to bring you in alive. These men are all armed, their weapons set to stun if you try to resist us," Anslinger said.

"Did you really expect anything else?" Aries said as he threw the bottle he'd finished at Anslinger.

Anslinger reacted instantly, his lightsaber slashing out and catching the bottle with an incredible amount of precision. The act required less than a split-second's attention away from Aries, who kicked the table, sending it in Sariss' direction, and while he rolled back his hand shot out and the blaster he had noticed earlier sailed towards him, shooting wild arcs of blue in all directions before reaching Aries' left hand. The stun arcs taking out four of the soldiers.

He had rolled back and had taken out his lightsaber before the blaster had reached his hand, the golden blade leaping out and aiming a low horizontal slash at Anslinger, who met Aries' blade with his own, it's colour aqua.

Aries managed to hold Anslinger back with only one hand on his blade, and angling himself so that his former master was in-between him and the remaining soldiers, who now had their weapons out and were trying to get into something that resembled a tactical formation.

"You won't escape a second time," Anslinger said, pressing his lightsaber down on Aries' blade, trying to keep him in one spot long enough to be stunned.

Aries gave Anslinger a savage smile, and for a brief instant Anslinger saw the person Aries had been so many years ago shine through, if only just a glimmer. He hesitated and Aries yet again capitalized on it, pushing back enough to allow him enough space to backflip up in the air towards to the wall, land on it, and use the Force to help him propel himself over Anslinger and while in midair stun yet another of the soldiers.

He landed in-between the last two conscious soldiers, Agear and Horace, who displayed a surprising amount of dexterity and reaction timing, as he shuffled stepped back and withdrew a vibro-blade. Agear chose to rely on the butt of his large rifle to try and knock Aries out at such close quarters, but Aries ducked the blow and spun low, bringing his leg around with tremendous force, hitting Agear in the shin, unlike the previous night though the soldier didn't fall over, but did stumble forward, catching himself on a table.

The second he had finished the sweep, he pointed the blaster at Horace and fired, knocking him out with the blue arcing beam.

This left him a clear path out, with Anslinger and the rest behind him, though Anslinger was close. He was older though, and even with the Force on his side, it also seemed to be helping Aries, who sprinted out of the cantina faster than any normal human could move. He looked back to see Agear and Anslinger a few meters behind him.

A maintenance shuttle had landed nearby and was unloading materials in big brown own boxes and Aries reached out with the Force to grab them and launch them across the path behind himself. He was lucky too, because of his rusty skills he had to dive to narrowly avoided one of those very boxes.

He used the momentary diversion and what was left of his powers, since he had used more in the past few days than he had in years, to launch himself up into the air and land on a large transport shuttle.

He lowered himself on it with shaky legs and turned over and onto his back, somewhat exhausted but smiling and laughing as well.

The shuttle he was on was at least three times longer than he was tall, and there was plenty of space for him to stretch out and relax for a moment. That moment was interrupted by a loud thump that came from the other side of the shuttle. He looked back and saw, upside down, the figure of Sariss, holding a green lightsaber.

Aries groaned as he rose to his feet and faced Sariss. Her face had a determined expression on it and her eyes were locked on him.

"You can still turn yourself in," she said.

Aries laughed, "you know what they do to people like me?"

"Whatever it is, I know you deserve it, I've read up on you and know what you've done," Sariss replied.

"You've read up on me have you, well I guess you're an expert then. If they capture me they'll cut me off, sever my connection to the Force and leave me a useless husk," Aries said.

"Are you sure that's what will happen? I've heard you've left the dark side, but acting out of fear like you are now will only bring you closer again," Sariss said.

His eyes flinched at the truth in those words, but there was also a weariness there as well. "That sounds like something someone who's spent their entire lives at the Academy would say. Spend some time out on edges of the galaxy long enough and your perspective might change," he said. "I'm tired of this though, you do what you have to."

He switched on his lightsaber and jumped on top of another shuttle, one half the size of the one they were previously on. Sariss had anticipated him and landed on top of it before him, her lightsaber up as he landed and met her blade with his golden one.

Green and gold blazed against the backdrop of bright lights and passing shuttles and speeders. The one they were on swerved to try and shake them off, and Aries jumped onto the top of another smaller grey shuttle, then another another larger one, Sariss following close behind.

Wide eyes of people in various shuttles and speeders watched as they played their dangerous cat and mouse game thousands of metres above any sort of solid ground.

"You're crazy!" Sariss yelled as she landed on another shuttle, her face flushed and sweaty, as was Aries'. He was also still slightly drunk, and his focus and the fact that it been years since he'd been in a battle like this made it hard or him to concentrate. Still, he found he was also enjoying himself, and let out an exhilarated cry.

"Maybe I am crazy," he said as his duel with Sariss continued, "because this is the most fun I've had in years."

"How did you ever become a Jedi?" Sariss yelled.

"Through intense concentration and having no sense of humour, thank the Force I've grown out of that phase," Aries said before jumping yet again.

Sariss chased him as he jumped from transport to transport, like a mynock swooping after it's prey in the lower recesses of Coruscant. When he finally landed on another large shuttle, he looked around wildly for an escape from Sariss' relentless pursuit. Finally he looked down and before thinking took the gamble just as Sariss jumped right next to him. He felt her hand brush against his jacket but it slipped from her grasp as he jumped straight down, falling through the traffic as the vehicles shot past him, hoping he'd timed it right.

After falling at least a few hundred feet he reached out and barely grabbed hold of the side of a smaller speeder with one hand, the other hand still holding his lightsaber, he shut the blade off and the first chance he got let go of the speeder, as it flew over a building that it was close enough to so he wouldn't break his legs when he landed.

He rolled as he hit the ground and though nothing broke, he definitely felt the force of the fall rip up his legs like mini shockwaves. He was lucky that his adrenaline was still flowing strongly or it would have hurt quite a bit more.

He ignored the pain and looked around and saw that he had finally lost Sariss. He didn't relax though until he'd reached his apartment. There were no records that he lived here, as was the case in much of Nar Shaddaa, and as long as the credits continued to flow no questions were asked. Still it was probably best if he lay low for a while.

Aries slumped down onto his bed, feeling the adrenaline finally recede and after opening and closing his eyes a few times he closed them yet again, and passed out.

When he woke up it was to the sight of his room full of soldiers as well as Sariss and Anslinger.

"Tell me this is a nightmare?" he asked.

"Afraid not," Anslinger said. "Sariss tagged you with a tracer, she is quite talented."

"Yeah, unfortunately I have to agree," Aries said, right before Agear strode up and shot a stun arc right at his chest, and all he knew for a while was black.


	7. Chapter 7

"He seemed like any other child. Energetic, shy at times, but even when I first met him, there was a slight sense of unrest. If only I'd paid more attention to it, perhaps things would have gone differently..."

It had been a long work cycle, one shift longer than he was supposed to have worked, but Aries had accepted it anyway. When he wasn't working, or keeping himself in the shape his job required, he was drinking.

The Scoundrel's Den was quiet. It was a small cantina with low lighting and only one circular bar in the middle, surrounded by several small semi-circle hubs. For the most part the hubs contained tables and booths, the cliental being mostly bi-pedal, but a few of them had been retrofitted to serve the variety of species who were likely to congregate there.

Aries was feelings restless, and no matter where he went or what he did, that feeling was always with him. It was in his bones, in his blood and if he wasn't careful it could take over, and the results were usually unpleasant.

He also had a difficult time keeping to himself. As much as he tried to convince himself that his past was light years behind him, there still remained a very small sense of duty and justice. It was rarely conscious, more of an impulse, one he could barely control.

In a place like Nar Shaddaa it was far from a useful trait though. That night he could see it coming and could have walked away. He'd seen the Corellian pimp, Ranik, arrive with his group of Twi'lek girls a few hours before, and right away it was obvious that the man was drunk and in a boisterous mood. His instinct, maybe more than that, told him there would be trouble, but he'd ignored it, downing his drink and ordering another one.

It had all started with one word. "No."

It was amazing the effect one word could have. One word at the right moment could change the course of a night in an instant, and sometimes it could have consequences that went well beyond just one night or one life.

The word had been spoken by one of the Twi'lek girls. Her name was Yasha and she was still young, in her early twenties. She was short and her skin was a deep blue and she was wearing a cheap dress that was clearly a knock off of a fashion that had been popular on Coruscant recently.

Rani, was standing and so was she. She had a drink in her hand and was staring back defiantly at him. "What did you say?" he asked.

Yasha didn't back down, despite the fact that Ranik stood a good foot taller than her, with a broad chest and annoyingly large muscles. He wore a only a vest and black pants, with boots that were a bright lime green. He also had a blaster in a holster on his left side, Aries couldn't help but noticing.

"I said no. I'm done with this life, just give me the creds you owe me and I'll be gone," she said.

Ranik, laughed and his arm crossed over and then swept back, his back hand hitting the girl, nearly knocking her off her feet. Blood poured down from her nose and fire raged in her eyes before she screamed and lashed back against him, giving him four long and deep scratches on the side of his face.

"You little sithspawn slut," Ranik spewed before full out punching her in the face, knocking her back and through a cheap table. She sat up slowly, slightly dazed but still looking angry. Ranik pulled his blaster out it's holster and pointed it at Yasha. "You know who I'm associated with and what I can get away with if I want."

The blaster in his hand shook, and when he shot it, the bolt narrowly missed the girl's head, leaving a smoking hole in the seat behind her.

"I guess that makes a second blaster you don't know how to use," Yasha said with a defiant smile on her bloodied face.

Ranik's face was livid and Aries wouldn't have been surprised if his eyes popped out of his skull. He was practically shaking with rage and Aries could feel that seductive and familiar feeling rolling off him. The hand holding the blaster, however, wasn't shaking anymore, and it's barrel was pointed directly at the girl's head.

"Think I'll miss this time?" Ranik said. His voice was now a deadly calm, his eyes glaring directly at her.

"Ok, that's more than enough," Aries said. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried well and Ranik looked over, surprise now clouding his eyes.

He wasn't the only one surprised. Aries hadn't remembered standing up, and the words had escaped his lips with barely a conscious thought behind them.

"What did you say?" Ranik asked.

Aries sighed, "well at best it was a whole ten seconds ago, but I said that's enough. There's no need to kill the girl."

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" Ranik sneered. "I've seen you around here before. You're just some low-level Czerka security thug. Drunk off your ass most of the time you're here on cheap Corellian ale."

"Guess you have me all figured out," Aries replied with a smile, "still, you know what they say about appearances? I think you might want to let this little grudge die."

"Fuck you," Ranik said. He then looked back at Yasha, who had been frozen by the exchange, her eyes moving back and forth from Ranik to Aries. Finally her gaze was locked onto Ranik's, who had turned back to look at her and there was a cold malice on his face that frightened her more than any boast or blow.

Ranik's finger wrapped around the trigger and squeezed. Yasha closed her eyes and heard the blaster shot and in that moment was too scared to think of anything and really only felt anger at herself, at the situation, at Ranik, and hoped sincerely that someday something very bad would happen to the man who'd killed her.

There was no pain though, no burning or blood, nothing. She opened her eyes to see that the blaster Ranik had been holding was now lying on the ground near her feet. She had no idea how it had gotten there, but was immediately distracted by the fight that was now taking place between Ranik and Aries.

Ranik, who was bigger than Aries, was relying on pure brute force and launching punch after punch, all of which missed except for the last one, which caught Aries across the jaw. The blow had a brief stunning effect, but Aries regained his focus faster than anyone would have imagined.

Despite the fact that he seemed way more intoxicated than Ranik, Aries fought with a practiced technique and though his punches were mostly jabs, they landed much more consistently than Ranik's, and most of them were body shots, with only a few quick jabs hitting Ranik in the face.

Ranik was getting tired and decided to tackle Aries, lifting him up and crashing him down onto the ground, punching Aries in the face, dazing him while Ranik stood back up, groaning a bit at the pain that had been caused to his core.

Aries used the moment to deliver a quick yet vicious sweep, his heel catching Ranik's shin, causing him to fall forward as he screamed in pain. A loud crack had followed the blow and pain flooded Ranik's senses and for a few moments he had no real thought process.

When he finally got back onto his knees, mentally preparing himself for the simple task of returning to his feet, a task complicated the still constant pain in his shin, feeling as if someone was using a light saber to very slowly burn it away, only taking centimeters off at a time, he looked up to see that Aries had already beaten him to the act. He didn't have the time or the energy to stop the fist that hammered down into the side of his head.

The blow knocked Ranik down, and while he was still barely conscious, the fight was over. Aries looked down at Ranik and his vision blurred, whether this was more because he had drank a lot or gotten punched in the head he wasn't sure, and a small smile formed on his lips.

The constant, driving pulse of adrenaline was still electrifying his system, and he felt alive in a way he hadn't for an incredibly long time. He had always felt that way after a fight or a battle.

Somewhere in the dark recesses of mind lingered the guilt that was always there as well. It was a battle of nature versus nurture, of the teachings he'd grown up with and trained under competing with his heritage, with the blood that flowed through his veins.

It was at that point that he realized how quiet the bar was. He looked over and saw the bartender, was was a small and scared looking Rodian, holding an old, Exar Kun era rifle.

The Rodian spoke a few words in a loud and shaky voice. Aries could only make out a bit of it, but understood the intention behind the words. "It's alright," he said. "I won't be causing any more trouble."

The bartender continued to point his gun,and repeated what he'd said before. Aries now noticed that the rifle wasn't pointed directly at him, but slightly to the side.

He looked over to see Yasha holding Ranik's blaster now. When she had stood up, he didn't know, but now it was her turn to point it at Ranik, who still lay unconscious on the floor.

"Sure that's a good idea?" Aries asked.

"Seems like a pretty damn good one from where I'm standing," Yasha replied.

"In your boots I might say the same, but even if you didn't realize that you had a rifle pointed at your head, you might want reconsider the consequences of taking out someone as connected as him," Aries said.

Yasha didn't say anything, but there was uncertainty in her eyes now. What she was thinking, the images and memories of sensations caused by the now unconscious scoundrel, Aries could only glimpse at through the wave of emotions that rolled off her.

Then she fired. So did the Rodian. The second shot was fired only a few milliseconds after the first. Neither hit their target.

The blaster Yasha had been holding was now floating half a meter above her head and she was holding the hand the blaster had been held in. The Rodian's rifle was also out of his hands and also floating about half a meter in front of him.

The bartender barely let out a squeal of surprise before the rifle flew back at him with a burst of speed, the butt slamming into his head hard enough to knock him over.

The blaster floated over to Aries, outstretched hand, he grasped the handle, set the weapon to stun and turned it's safety on before stuffing it in the back of his pants.

Yasha looked at him with a stunned face. "You're a Jedi."

"Not anymore," he said. He then waved two of his finger quickly in the direction of Yasha and the other Twi'lek girls. "You've never seen me before. This man drank too much and passed out, and you decided to take your chances and run, to try and start a new life far away from here."

Without a word in reply the girls left. Yasha brushed up against him, as if she couldn't see him.

Aries left several minutes later, after making sure the security system had been thoroughly destroyed.


	8. Chapter 8

Part 2

Chapter 8

A Few Months Earlier

There was a pleasant breeze that drifted lazily along with small and silent waves that neared the shore of one of Alderaan's most beautiful beaches. Kyle lay on the sand, relaxing and just enjoying the quiet, letting his mind find whatever peace it could.

He had to be careful though and maintain at least a little bit of control over his mind, because if he didn't the currents that were in his mind would become more turbulent, the winds picking up more and more until a storm consumed it.

He had to be careful, because if he wasn't, he found it too easy to get lost in that storm, to enjoy the danger in it.

"You know," a female voice said above him, "a Jedi should never let their guard down."

"Appearances can be deceiving," he said, his eyes still closed, but with a small smile forming at the corner of his lips.

"I hope so," the voice continued, "because from here it looks as if you're just being lazy and laying down on a beach."

Kyle simply shrugged, then heard a snap-hiss and felt the familiar warmth and saw the light brushing up against his eyelids.

"If I were a Sith right now you'd be dead," the voice said.

"Then it's lucky for me that there aren't anymore Sith," he said.

Sariss snorted, looking down at Kyle, with only a little bit of annoyance, "there are always Sith, even if there are only one or two, they always exist. Besides, there are still Sith forces in the galaxy."

She found herself studying his features, as she often did. Though he wasn't standing, she knew he was only slightly taller than her, by a few inches, with short black hair, small, black and shrewd eyes as well as a week's worth of stubble which he referred to as a work in progress beard.

His robe had been taken off and he wore a simple black muscle shirt and traditional khaki-coloured pants. His boots and socks had been taken off and his feet unconsciously played with the sand.

He shrugged again, something he was well known for back at the Academy, "would you believe that I'm meditating?"

"If you are you're using one of the most comfortable positions to do it in," Sariss said.

"Yeah I wonder why more Jedi don't do it this way," Kyle said, "at the very least so they don't get bad knees later on."

"I don't think anyone's had to deal with bad knees for hundreds of thousands of years Kyle," Sariss pointed out.

"Oh they've had to deal with it, it's just not really a big deal, still a slight annoyance though," Kyle said.

"Uh-huh, and aren't you supposed to be overseeing the peace talks here?" Sariss asked.

"We're taking a break until tomorrow, to give the two families time to deliberate on the sentence they each feel is appropriate," Kyle said. "There's no death penalty so I figure they'll agree on ten years."

"Ten years for murder?" Sariss said.

"For murder in defense," Kyle said.

"We'll see, and how long have you been here?" Sariss asked.

"Two very pleasant and unobtrusive hours," Kyle said.

"And you don't think that's long enough?" Sariss said. "You are, technically, supposed to be overseeing the final stages of my training."

"And I have been, very closely, I only had to interject a few times, as you might recall, otherwise you're doing a great job mediating the peace talks. Your points have been fair and balanced, you're not rude or condescending, in other words a perfect example of what a Jedi should be," he said, the smile that was at the edges of his mouth was now fully-formed.

"Flatterer," Sariss said.

"I speak only the truth," he replied.

"Ha, anyway I thought this would be a good time to get some dueling practice in, since that is kind of your specialty," she said.

A more mischievous smile filled Kyle's face, and he said, "I guess the practice would be good for both of us," and finally opened his eyes and stood up.

"Wipe that smile off your face, we're only going to practice," Sariss said.

"Sure, I'm ready," he said, even though his double-bladed lightsaber was still lying on top of his robe.

"Not this again," Sariss said.

"Don't worry, I'll bring the lightsaber in eventually," he said.

"It just seems stupid, what if I hit you?" Sariss said.

"There is no fear, remember, trust in the Force and you'll be alright," Kyle said.

"Fine," she said, and launched a horizontal sweep at Kyle, who backflipped just as the blade swept past, landing just after it.  
Kyle ducked a second sweep, and dodged her attacks again and again until finally she managed to catch him with a quick thrust, but instead of hitting his chest, an invisible hand caught the blade only a centimeter away.

He pushed the blade away with his mind and the dance continued, and as it did the sun slowly started to set. Sariss' green blade arcing and sweeping, and despite the setting sun, there was still plenty of humidity in the air, causing them to both sweat quite a bit.

Finally Kyle called his lightsaber, the two blades extending as the weapon flew over, one side yellow, the other blue. He caught it and brought it up as Sariss' blade came down, blocking it with the blue blade, spinning around and jumping over another sweep, and then parrying her thrust with the yellow side, spinning the lightsaber around and going on the offensive, driving her backwards, closer and closer to a small group of trees that stood next to the beach.

Along the way he pressed a button that was in the middle of the hilt, which then separated into two, and now with a blade in each hand his style changed completely, forcing Sariss to use different techniques as well. She handled it well, and not for the first time Kyle was impressed by her ability to remain calm despite the constant volley that her blade was meeting and parrying.

They continued to get closer and closer to the trees, Kyle backing Sariss into them, and closer and closer to one with a wide trunk. Kyle managed to catch her blade with his two locked together in an x pattern, forcing her arms up and back against the tree, his own body up against hers.

"You planned this didn't you," she said, but there was fire in her eyes now, and didn't seem particularly angry to find herself in this position.

"Maybe," Kyle said.

"You're an asshole you know that?" she said as his lips neared her own.

"Yep," he said before kissing her fiercely.

The lightsabers were quickly turned off as Sariss tore her robe off and Kyle pushed down his pants, her legs wrapped around his waist as he lifted her up against the tree, entering her as he continued to kiss, Sariss' fingers digging into his back as he thrusted up again and again.

Physical and emotional unions between Jedi were often frowned upon, in many eras they were completely banned due to the emotions involved and how easily they can be distorted and used by the dark side.

The two knew this, but little else seemed to matter at the moment, and other moments similar as well the ones that had led to it. A few hours later, Kyle was thinking about it briefly as he lay on top of his robes, while Sariss' covered them loosely. Sariss' head was on his shoulder and arm, and despite it going numb he decided against moving her.

For a brief moment before he nodded off, the storm returned, and he was grateful she was asleep, because he knew she would feel it, and he didn't want to give her cause for concern, even if, rationally, they were far beyond the point where it was possible to not cause concern.

It had been several years since he'd touched true darkness, walked within it's halls and faced off against it's forces, and still he felt the scars it had left.

Calming the storms was easier than usual, he had to only look down at Sariss' face, it was always the thought of her that brought him out, and it was with that thought that he entered the land of dreams.

_Two boys stand in front of a bare room. One is taller and with light brown hair, the other shorter by a head and a half, his hair black and shaggy, it hasn't been cut in quite some time._

Neither of them speaks. The young one has blinded by a myriad of changes and sounds and images that will not make sense for years to come, some he will forget entirely.

The older remembers. He remembers a mother and a father who abandoned him. He remembers fire and death, the loss of innocence, the loss of something inside that will shape his existence and will take years to recover.

The room continues to be silent. The older boy cannot stand it. He walks over to one of the beds and sits down on it, and looks over at the younger boy. The boy's face is familiar, but so much has happened, the past is pain and he ignores it, for now.

"My name's Aries," he says.

The younger boy is shaken out of whatever thought was holding him in place and finally, for the first time, looks at the older boy, the one he'll be living with from now on. The older boy has a smile on his face, and years later he would wonder why, but in that moment, in his new home that was on a strange planet, filled with strange men who carried swords made of light, and had powers beyond anything he could imagine, that smile helped more than he would have imagined.

"I'm Kyle."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The morning was had been quiet. Kyle woke up to find Sariss looking at him.

"Thought you'd never get up," she said.

"Yeah, I'm still not sure I am," he replied. "How long have you been up?"

"Not that long, I would've gotten up to eat, but you're kind of on my robe, and it didn't' seem right to take yours and leave you in a potentially compromising position," she said.

"You waited for me to wake up for breakfast? For a whole half hour? I must be special," he said in a teasing way.

"Shut up," Sariss said. "I thought we agreed that we were going to be more careful. A beach isn't exactly private."

"Don't worry," he said as stood up and kissed her, "nobody will find out."

"You can't know that," Sariss said.

Kyle sighed as he pulled his pants on, and then worked on putting his boots on after, his face passive and brow furrowed. Sariss knew the expression well. The sun was out and it was also easier to see his scars. There were lines from cuts, a few lightsaber burns and the left side of his body was covered with a splatter of burn scars, as if someone threw a bucket of fire at him.

They continued to dress silently, and when they were finished Sariss sat down next to him, sliding her hand into his and squeezing it.

"I know you don't like talking about it, but you've been getting more and more reckless," Sariss said. "Its been happening slowly over the past five years, and it isn't obvious yet to anyone else, but it's still there and I can't help but worry about where it will lead."

He squeezed her hand back. "For as long as I could remember I was sure this was what I wanted to do. Part of it, I'm sure, at least as a kid, was the fact that I could use powers and help people," he said. "I guess most people don't grow up having that, or knowing for the most part exactly what they want to do. It makes things a little bit easier, even if that path leads you down some tough roads."

"And?" Sariss said.

"And I'm not sure I want to keep leading this life," Kyle said. "Anyway it doesn't matter, it's not exactly an easy decision or one I'll be making right away. Let's get back to the dispute talks."

The beach was right next to the small home that had been provided for their mission. It belonged to the Order and was a few stories high with a roof that was in the shape of a dome, similar to the most prevalent style on Alderaan.

They'd rented a speeder, as well as a swoop, a guilty pleasure of Kyle's. He sat in the passenger seat of the speeder while Sariss turned it on and they shot towards Aldera, Alderaan's capital city.

The beach and their house was only about twenty minutes away from the city, the perfect place for a Jedi to deliberate in peace and meditate or train even, without disrupting anyone else.

They were silent for half the ride, but Sariss finally spoke, unable to stop the words from escaping her lips. "You can't seriously be thinking of leaving the Order," she said.

"I'm not serious about it yet, it's just something I've thought about, but I mean, would it really be so bad, besides, Jedi are a lot more lenient and understanding of Jedi and non-Jedi relationships," he said.

"Please let this not be because of us," Sariss said.

"It's not, mostly, but it would be convenient. Trust me I know you'll be a Jedi for life, I can tell," Kyle said. "I just feel like things haven't been the same since I fought Mandalore."

"You can say use his real name Kyle," Sariss said.

"That was his name," Kyle said. "That's who he became, anyway, ever since that fight things have been different. I tried to ignore it, put it behind me at first, but every mission I've gone on, every day I wake up or night before I sleep that change is there."

"Of course it is," Sariss said, "you fought against someone who was like a brother to you, someone you had looked up to for years after you were orphaned, someone who almost killed you, a few times. That would mess anybody up, but you also survived, and part of that is because you are a Jedi. A great one even"

"We'll see," Kyle shrugged as they finally neared the Courts. Their dispute was in one of the smaller rooms, but first they had to park in a reserved spot underground.

They took a lane that curled around the building in a downward spiral for a hundred feet until it opened up into a large area that different vehicles were stored in.

"That's weird," Sariss said, remarking on a group of Republic soldiers waiting near their spot. "We've been hear several times and haven't had an escort before."

"I know," Kyle said, warnings flashing in his mind, causing him to study the group more closely before yelling, "jump, now!"

He yelled the words just as several of the soldier stepped aside to reveal one who had been carrying rocket launcher. He'd holding it low so that they wouldn't see it until they were too close. The soldier leveled it onto his shoulder and took aim, firing the rocket just as the two Jedi jumped into the air.

The rocket hit the speeder and exploded in a fiery flower, sending out shrapnel, some of which shot up and into Kyle's left thigh. He bit back the cry and focused on the soldiers, igniting his lightsaber, the two blades leaping to life at the same time as Sariss' blade, his own spinning to deflect bolts that were now being fired up at them even before they reached ground.

The soldiers had been well trained. They didn't yell in surprise at seeing the Jedi escape from the explosion, but instead spread out and surrounded them before the Jedi could land.

Kyle kept his back to Sariss' as they stood up, deflecting a furious rain of bolts. "I count five on my side," Kyle yelled.

"Four over here," he heard Sariss yell back. "We need to get out of this circle."

"Agreed," he said and they both broke away, Sariss diving down and rolling in-between two soldiers, her blade taking out the legs of the one on the left and deflecting a point-blank shot back into the soldier on the right's face as she stood up.

Kyle went high, running forward a few paces and then leaping into the air, flipping and twisting so that he landed behind one soldier, his yellow blade slashing down and through the soldier's arm, kicking him down and spinning his lightsaber around to take the barrel off the rifle of another soldier, using the Force to launch him backwards, sending him flying into the wall.

By the time he turned around and deflected a couple more shots, Sariss had ducked underneath another spray of blaster fire and came up with her lightsaber, stabbing it into the soldier's side and then quickly sending his weapon flying.

"That makes three, Feral, you better catch up, don't want me beating your score again," she yelled as she deflected another shot.

"Yeah yeah," he said, shaking his head, "it's not a game."

"You just don't want to be the one to buy lunch again," Sariss yelled back.

Kyle said nothing, he was too busy putting his life into the hands of a gamble. Three of the soldier were focusing on him, two of them closing in while one staying back. Kyle threw his lightsaber, aiming with the Force, sending it up in a spinning arc which came down and tore through the far man, and as he relied on his instincts to dodge the blasts without his weapon, focused on calling it back, as well as hitting the button that turned his double-bladed lightsaber into two.

The blades unlocked and returned blade first, each shooting through a soldier before returning to his hands. The two collapsed with holes in their chest as Sariss backed the last soldier towards Kyle, who used the Force to pull his blaster away and yank him off his feet and onto the ground hard.

He then lifted him up, turning the soldier around to face him. "Who sent you?" Kyle yelled.

The soldier was wearing a helmet. Kyle yanked it off with the Force and sent it flying, to reveal a bald-headed man, his face covered in Mandalorian tattoos. He spat at Kyle before yelling, "I hope you burn for betraying the Ordo clan," and then laughed as he pressed a button on his chest.

The explosion was immediate, and Kyle barely had time to enclose the man in an invisible shield, creating a disgusting cluster of blood and destroyed fragments of Republic uniform, before letting it fall and splatter on the ground.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Sariss said.

"Yeah, I think it's best if we skip lunch," he said.

_Kyle is standing in a training yard outside of the Academy. He is twelve years old now, and taller and skinnier than before. His once-shaggy hair has been cut short._

He is sweating and finally resting after an intensive workout. His arms are bruised in several places from practicing with wooden sword in the morning. Despite the bruises his teachers are saying he is making great progress. Especially with dueling, though the bruises on his arms make him feel otherwise.

The landing field for the Academy is close by. Kyle sees a ship land, and knows, somehow, that Aries is on board. He had left only a week ago, with his Master, Anslinger.

Kyle rushes toward the ship, and watches Aries walk down it, followed by Anslinger. Something is different though. Kyle can it see in Aries' face. His light-brown hair is long and covers some of his eyes. There is a darkness in those eyes now, and they are far away from the present. He doesn't even acknowledge Kyle. Walks right past him.

Several days go by and Aries says not a word. He remains wherever the trip with Anslinger took him. He eats and he trains but he barely sleeps. The only time Kyle hears him is during his nightmares, which wake him up more than once.

Finally, on the eighth night Kyle finally asks him a question. Aries does not respond at first, but finally words start to form, and he speaks of a village on a remote planet. Anslinger left him there to protect them, while he searched the mountains for raiders.

The raiders weren't in the mountains.

They arrived in the night and there was fire and death and Aries was brought back to his darkest times. He protected the family he was staying with, he had grown fond of the daughter. Many people died that night and still Anslinger had not returned.

Aries was ready the second night. The raiders died one by one and in the end he was covered in their blood and the daughter could not look at him.

On the third night Anslinger returned, collected his student, and left. He hadn't spoken since that night, and now tears were on his face and he didn't know how they had gotten there.

"I'm not sure I can be a Jedi," he said before taking refuge in silence yet again.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It wasn't until several minutes later, as Kyle and Sariss were explaining the attack they had survived to Aldera's security forces, that Kyle realized he was bleeding. Apparently there had been a glitch in their system the moment Kyle and Sariss had arrived, one official had been explaining, when Sariss noticed the blood slowly darkening Kyle's robes.

"Oh yeah," he said, after she pointed it out, "I forgot I got hit when we were above the explosion."

"You forgot?" Sariss said, her face was still very pale, and Kyle wondered if she would be sick.

"Yeah, adrenaline I guess," he said. Before she could reply, one of the officials stepped forward.

"Sir, if you'll follow me, I can take you to a medical facility, there's one close by."

"Sure," Kyle said, "but I want all the info your men gather, and you should also have someone report this to the Republic embassy. It was their uniforms they were wearing, I want to know how they got there."

"Yes, sir," the security official said. He lead Kyle to a small speeder and took him and Sariss to the medical facility.

Twenty minutes later Kyle was sitting on a medical bed, his pants off and with pulling bit after little bit of shrapnel out of his leg.

Sariss was sitting next to him, and Kyle kept trying to get her to focus on his face, rather than his torn, bloody and now disinfected leg. Her face was still pale, but getting better.

"You're handling this well," Kyle said.

"What part?" she said. "Knowing that I've killed someone, that we were almost killed, or watching a droid pick bits of metal out of your leg."

"I'll go with all of the above," Kyle said. "Look you haven't thrown up yet, and you're shaken by the fact that you killed someone, both of those are good things. It shouldn't ever feel normal to take a life, but we had no other options, and not all of them are dead. This was your first encounter with death and it leaves a toll. Trust me though, you're handling it well. As for me, you know I've had worse."

Sariss was going to respond but was cut off by a deep and familiar voice. "Yes, somehow you always seem to survive, no matter what the circumstances," Anslinger said as he entered the room. He pulled his hood back to reveal a face that looked older than Kyle had remembered, even though it had only been a few years.

"Master," Kyle said, "or should I say General now. Congratulations."

"I am first and foremost a Jedi," he replied. "This promotion was a necessity, both the Council and Republic High Command believe we should be working more closely together. The rift between us almost destroyed us when Revan was alive."

"Makes sense," Sariss said. "I thought you were patrolling the Outer Rim territories. Alderaan seems a long way away from there."

"It is, I was actually hoping to speak to Kyle privately," Anslinger said.

"Why?" Sariss asked, then quickly bowed her head, "sorry, Master."

"That's quite alright," Anslinger said. "I've read the report and you seem to have handled yourself quite well. In fact I'll be overseeing the remainder of your training, though at this point it's more of a formality, I see no reason why you won't become a full Jedi very soon."

"That's great and all, but I thought I was supposed to be doing that, not that she doesn't have my full recommendation," Kyle said with a smile.

"And you would have, but something has come up and your skills are required for a different task," Anslinger said. "Unfortunately I am only supposed to speak with you about this, and while time is somewhat of the essence, I'll let this competent droid finish it's job. You can find me in one of the private rooms upstairs."

Anslinger bowed and then left.

"I don't like the sound of the that," Sariss said. "Sounds like a mission."

"Yeah, it never ends, does it?" he said.

It took another hour to clean up his leg, place a kolto patch over it and wrap it to keep it in place. Kyle refused the pain medication, and had only a small grimace on his face when he stood up.

After a few minutes he found he could easily ignore the pain. A small part of him enjoyed it, made him feel alive. He walked up to meet Anslinger alone, Sariss having left to follow up with the security forces about the attack.

He mentioned this to Anslinger when he met him in a private room. "I should be following this up, since I was the target," he said.

"Of course you were, it seems rather simple, which is why Sariss is more than capable of handling it," Anslinger said. "We've done our best to screen and keep track of the remaining Mandalorian clans. Most have retreated to mercenary lives, but it's only natural that some would slip through."

"You seem really calm about the fact that I was just attacked," Kyle said.

"I know you can handle yourself," Anslinger said. "You might forget, but I was the first to open the small fighter ship you were in several years ago, after Mandalore revealed himself. You were barely alive, with burns all down your side and countless other wounds. Only an incredibly talented Jedi could withstand those injuries and live, much less escape and warn us of who we were dealing with."

"I haven't forgotten," Kyle said. "How could I?"

"And you shouldn't, but it's also why a small band of Mandalorians in disguise don't worry me," Anslinger said.

"I don't know why, out of any other soldier, they're the most dangerous to Jedi. They know how to fight us, they showed us that five years ago, and over a hundred in the Mandalorian Wars. The Order was nearly destroyed when Jedi went to defeat them."

"When rogue Jedi went, you mean," Anslinger said. "Anyway, it is funny you bring up that war. The time of Revan ties into the mission I have for you. I was worried you might need to take time to heal, so I have to recent my offer to take your time, this mission is very important, and you need to leave right away."

After explaining the details, Kyle took a shuttle straight to spaceport, where a small one-man ship was waiting for him. He wanted to say goodbye to Sariss, hurt him that he couldn't, but knew it was important to leave as soon as possible.

_Kyle stands in the room he has slept in for several years. The room that was the closest to home that he has ever known, but the feeling of home has left._

The side of the room that had once had clothes strewn across it and a bed that was constantly unmade is now completely clean. Not a trace of the person who had lived there as well remained.

Aries had left. Had never been the same since he returned from the raider incident. He had grown restless and even after becoming a full Jedi had only grown more angry and arrogant. Constantly questioning the Masters and the instructors and taking more and more risks.

And then he had left, and Kyle was alone once again. He felt like the lost child who had sat on his bed staring into nothing. It would take quite some time to shake him from his depression. It would take a girl a few years younger, one with brown hair and a bright smile, a smile that had never known the horrors he had. Had never lost what he had lost. It was in that smile that he found a new home.


End file.
